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Business

Preparing the next generation for AI and the digital world of work.

Preparing the next generation for AI and the digital world of work.

by | Dec 3, 2021 |

With the rapid growth of technology and the looming presence of the 4th Industrial revolution, the workers and employees of tomorrow will need to make AI more than a simple tool. AI will be their assistant, their co-worker and possibly even their manager.

Artificial Intelligence will be an everyday part of their lives. So it is vital that this generation of employee learns to use AI and Big data as effectively as possible. This process needs to begin sooner rather than later.

Preparations must be made to prevent businesses and people entering the workforce from falling behind industry trends. With proper training comes better understanding of these platforms. What are their weaknesses, limitations and their strengths?

This new generation must come to understand that AI and their abilities as employees benefit one another. There must be emphasis on the qualities that differentiate the two from one another. Such as human creativity, adaptability and interpersonal skills versus AI’s impressive response time and handling of large data streams.

While there must be consideration given to elementary and secondary education, the tertiary education sector is where this type of training is most important. Providing education into problem solving and ethics. With the introduction of AI systems, many new ethical dilemmas present themselves: From excluding prejudices based on race, gender and sexual orientation; to influencing automated decision making; to how a self-driving car balances the lives of its occupants with those of pedestrians.

The world needs well trained people and programmers who can make thoughtful contributions to these decision-making processes. We need to take the youth who are preparing to enter the world of work and ensure that they are prepared for what AI and Big data means for businesses. Hurdles that obstruct this process are lack of funding for computer programmes in the majority of schools, as well as a shortage of teachers with experience in computers sciences.

Some are calling on tech companies to compensate for this lack of governmental capacity. To begin investing into the next generation to enable them to understand and interact with the new tech environment. Within a few years their investment would pay off for them in providing a trained and tech savvy batch of new hires. We must begin this process of investing in the next generation as soon as possible. It will benefit not only them, but will pay off for all

Outsourcing in South Africa: A blurred bottom line Outsourcing based on lowest rates

Outsourcing in South Africa: A blurred bottom line Outsourcing based on lowest rates

by | Nov 4, 2014 | ,

Alan Graham takes a look at outsourcing in South Africa and describes the benefits the destination can bring to the business.

When outsourcing first became popular, outsourcing was purely a cost saving mechanism. The mobile revolution has created a 21st century customer who demands more. In recent years, companies are thinking about the long term cost of outsourcing.

When you start looking at the long term effect of selecting an outsourcing destination purely on price, the bottom line becomes blurred. Factors such as customer retention, 1st call resolution, customer satisfaction and brand protection give cost savings a new meaning.

South Africa has become a buzz word in the industry, as a high quality offshore solution. It has even been called an equivalent to onshoring.

Some key facts about outsourcing in South Africa
South Africa is a nation of diversity, with 50+-million people, 17.32 million are part of the labour force and 62% of the population is urbanised.

South Africa is among the top 3 Locations that support English language skills at scale, it also has the added advantage to support a broad range of European languages.

South Africans also have a natural cultural affiliation to UK, US, EU, Australia and New Zealand and a neutral accent understood and accepted by all.

South Africa has the 26th largest GDP in the world and a thriving democracy.

With infrastructure to match any first world country and well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy and transport sectors, South Africa is on par with the other leading BPO destinations.

South Africa’s undeniable differentiator
So what’s all the fuss about? Yes, South Africa has the infrastructure, English and European language skills and talent pool to sustain the industry. On the surface, nothing stands out. Take a closer look, and the people element is the resounding differentiator.

South Africa offers a skilled talent pool that achieves excellent results with complex products and interactions. Companies currently outsourcing to South Africa, tend to outsource higher-end services, which they wouldn’t outsource to other locations or prefer to keep in-house.

Why? The claim is South African’s have a natural ability to create rapport, are customer focused, have empathy and the so called ‘Ubuntu’ service culture.

Are these claims valid? Well the results speak for themselves, some companies claim to experience higher 1st call resolution than they have experienced elsewhere. Others say they experience improved quality and the customer service is comparable to none.

There are BPO’s who have been operating in South Africa for the last 14 years. Yet, it was a relative unknown compared to its competitors. South Africa’s recent Global recognition as the Offshoring Destination of the Year in the 2012 NOA and 2013 EOA awards finally put this BPO gem on the map as an offshoring destination of choice. This recognition, together with a worldwide trend to differentiate with customer service and a strong focus on customer retention, has led to global awareness. The world is finally taking notice.

Companies want more! Customers expect more!
Cost is no longer the only deciding factor in the outsourcing space. Companies want more! Customers expect more! The only way for companies to be successful today, is to differentiate themselves with exceptional customer service. Companies, who have previously outsourced to destinations such as India and the Philippines based on cost savings alone, are back shoring. While other companies have realised the potential of quality offshoring destinations such as South Africa, where cost savings can still be achieved and customer retention can be maximised.

I predict South Africa’s popularity will only increase, as more companies become aware of the long term cost savings and associated benefits.

Learnerships make business sense

by | Oct 17, 2011 | ,

It is ironic that companies struggle to find quality staff while there are millions of youth without jobs. Right from the first democratic elections, government has realised that it required a new approach to reduce unemployment. The country needed to roll-out training on a massive scale to benefit the large number of jobless youth in waiting. Learnerships have been a buzz-word ever since.

Fast forward to the present day. The country still faces the same problem – and the global economy is still in decline. You would think that many companies would have climbed on the learnership bandwagon. Alas, they’re far and few between in spite of learnership benefits far exceeding their shortfall. Why is this so?

Learnerships are still perceived as a corporate liability
There’s a corporate perception that hosting and taking on learners on an ongoing basis is an unprofitable expense, that the resources needed to be set into place outweigh returns. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

  • Salaries: learners work for a third of the average entry-level market value e.g. where a call-centre consultant who’s just joined the job-market qualifies for R4, 500 after being screened for an advertised position, a learner trained for the same vacancy will require only R1, 500.
  • Equity: Companies stand to earn up to 15 percent of their Broadbased Black Economic Empowerment score if as little as five percent of its workforce is made up of learners.
  • Learnership Tax Breaks: The best part of having consistent learnership intake programs are SARS tax rebates. Companies are entitled to up to R 50 000 per learner in tax breaks per annum; what’s more, this figure in itself suffices in covering learnership overheads and sundry costs.

Concluding our brief document we’ll quote the Managing Director of i-Fundi Stefan Lauber, “Everyone wins with learnerships. Learners get decent work, companies find better staff, customers enjoy good service and South Africa as a whole benefits.”